


The Best Laid Plans

by evilkat



Category: Crimson Spell
Genre: Anal Sex, Human Rulca, M/M, Rimming, beast-vald
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-16
Updated: 2014-10-16
Packaged: 2018-02-21 09:52:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2464007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilkat/pseuds/evilkat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rulca wants to sample a little of what Halvir’s been treating himself to.  Unfortunately, things don’t go exactly as planned.  Here there be smut.  This is an older story I wrote and it takes place sometime before Chapter 9.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Best Laid Plans

Rulca watched Halvir tighten the saddlebags on Kiba, his demon-mount, from his perch on Vald’s shoulder. It was difficult to contain his glee. This was perfect. Halvir would be gone until the next afternoon and that meant the he would be alone with the young prince all night. That greedy sorcerer constantly refused to share Vald’s demon power with him. Watching the two of them together night after night was becoming incredibly frustrating in a way Rulca had never experienced before. Vald’s cursed beast form was immensely strong and brimming with spiritual energy. It just wasn’t fair that Havi was the only one allowed to partake. And besides, the manner in which the beast was subdued made parts of Rulca’s body feel all tingly. Was it so wrong to want a piece of that for himself? So, when it was announced that Havi would be venturing down into the nearby Valdley for supplies and information, Rulca decided that he would just have to take matters into his own hand. 

As soon as the Havi was gone and he was alone with the prince, Rulca changed into his human form. It made it easier to help with the various chores that needed to be done before they could settle down and have some quality alone time. 

“Where did I put it?” the demon-turned-human mumbled under his breath as he rummaged through the packs. Earlier that morning, when Havi wasn’t looking, he squirreled a special secret out of the sorcerer’s personal belongings and hid it with the regular supply packs. “Oh, here it is!” he exclaimed with glee.

“What are you doing?” Vald asked as he walked back into the camp, arms laden with firewood. 

Rulca quickly palmed the dried vine and gave his best I’m-not-doing-anything smile. “Oh, nothing much, I was just looking for some spices for the stew.”

The prince shrugged and began to stack the wood near the fire-pit. The demon almost sighed his relief out loud, but managed to maintain control. He quickly hid the vine in the sleeve of his overcoat and went to help. 

“That should be enough to keep the fire going for the rest of the night,” Vald said with a weary sigh as he wiped the sweat from his brow. 

The demon’s eyes followed the motion. His senses were more acute than a human and even in this form; he was able to smell the sharp tang of musk rolling off the other’s body. It filled him with a sudden urge to bury his face into the crook of the young prince’s neck and lick his skin clean. Rulca swallowed hard and tried not to stare. Tonight…must wait a little while longer. 

They ate dinner shortly after dusk and Vald was nice enough to complement him on his cooking skills. Rulca blushed and took it graciously. He really did like pleasing his master and he hoped that what he had in store for him tonight, even though Vald wouldn’t remember it, would be appreciated on some level. And besides, it was mutually beneficial. Vald was quite selfless in his actions, so should the prince find out about this new way of sharing the cursed beast’s powers, he wouldn’t be upset. At least, Rulca was pretty sure he wouldn’t be angry with him. 

While the demon-turned-human tidied up the remains of the meal, he noticed the unusually somber look on Vald’s face. Now that he thought about it, Rulca noticed that he had been rather quiet since he came back with the firewood. Could it be that he actually missed the sorcerer? That was nonsense, the demon quickly decided. Havi had left them alone a number of times and Vald hadn’t brooded like this. But then again, there was something changing between the two of them. Rulca sat down on the ground opposite the prince and began to ponder this. Since he had come to travel with the two, Rulca had noticed the bond strengthening. Vald was a bit more obvious in his gratitude towards the other man and the demon got the impression that there was a certain affinity held for the sorcerer. Havi, on the other hand, was a bit more reticent when it came to the younger man. More than once, Rulca thought he saw Havi pull back from offering some sort of affection towards Vald. 

It was very puzzling and Rulca couldn’t understand why, if Havi was interested in Vald beyond laying claim on the crimson sword, he wouldn’t say so. Then he wouldn’t have to sneak around and use Vald’s beast side to take his pleasure. Perhaps Vald would let him do those things to him when he was not suffering from the curse. Humans really were silly creatures sometimes. That way everyone would be happy. Of course, that meant that there wouldn’t be anymore chances for him to leech some of that spiritual energy. Rulca pondered this some more and came to the conclusion that this night might be his only chance. And come hell or high-water, he was going to take it. 

“I’m going to turn in,” Vald said softly, jostling the demon from his thoughts. 

“Oh, okay. Is everything alright?” Rulca was on his feet, ready to help if need be. 

“Nah, it’s okay. I guess I’m just tired.”

Or missing that lecherous sorcerer more than you’re willing to admit. That thought ignited a spark of jealousy so acute that Rulca had to force himself not to scowl. The demon nodded once to acknowledge the young man and slowly sat back down on the ground. He watched as the prince unbuckled the crimson blade from around his waist and set it down next to his bedroll. Next went overcoat followed by the lighter tunic underneath. Rulca’s eyes were fixed to that well-toned back as the muscles flexed with every movement. Vald locked the inhibitor cuffs around his wrists and settled down for sleep. Once the young man’s breathing evened out, the demon moved from his spot and began his preparations. 

Aphrodisiacs were not as easy to make as Havi lead him to believe. If even one ingredient was measured incorrectly or added at the wrong time, the results would be disastrous. Most love potions were made to have temporary effects, lasting no more than a night. Rulca knew the man-eater vine was extremely potent and he needed to be very careful with it. If he added too much to the mixture, Vald could be in a state of arousal for days. While the thought of that had merit, and it put a wicked smile on the demon-turned-human’s face, their quest could not be delayed for such things. With the utmost care, he cautiously sliced off a piece of the dried vine and began to grind it down with the pestle until it was a fine dust. Next he added the honeysuckle nectar that he collected earlier that morning and the brew began to sizzle. It was a very promising sound. Four drops of sap from a great oak tree, the petal from an unopened rosebud, and the final ingredient- one strand of hair, plucked from his bright pink head. He recited the necessary chant while stirring the concoction together. The wonderfully fragrant aroma wafted up to his nose and he inhaled deeply, but not too deeply. He didn’t want to he taken over by his own potion. 

Rulca had to give himself a pat on the back. The many years he spent with his previous master had paid off and he was impressed that he was able to work such a complicated spell. Now, all he needed was to get Vald to ingest some of the potion and the beast would be his for the taking. He crept over to the slumbering boy like a cat stalking a mouse and knelt down beside him. Timing was of the essence. Rulca needed to unlock the inhibitor cuffs to unleash the demon without waking Vald up first. Every second counted.

The demon-turned-human decided that removing his overcoat and tunic now would save him a few precious moments later. He placed the bowl down gently on the ground and quickly rid himself of the garments. He paused for a moment and stared down at his own body. He was lean and fit just like Vald. Perhaps not as strong physically, but Rulca had a pleasing shape. The young ladies in a few of the villages they stopped in seemed to think his looks were appealing when he was disguised as a human. They liked to fawn over his hair and tell him how adorable he was. 

Now that most of his clothes were out of the way, he reached over and slowly peeled back the fleece blanket to reveal Vald’s bare torso. The cuffed wrists were resting on the prince’s chest and he breathed in and out in a soft, steady rhythm. Rulca leaned in to examine the enchanted bracelets and was delighted to see that they were empowered by a simple binding spell. 

He picked up and cradled the bowl in the crook of his arm, ready for Vald’s transformation. A small spark of electricity sparked at the tip of his finger as he concentrated some of his spiritual energy. The cuffs fell open with just a gentle tap and the demon smiled at how easy it was to undo Havi’s magic. Heh…some sorcerer he is. A novice could have broken that spell. I wonder how long it will take for the beast to awaken. Rulca barely had enough time to finish that thought before Vald’s eyes shot open suddenly. They weren’t the warm, crystal blue eyes of the young prince, but the violet slit- pupils of the cursed beast. When those cat-like eyes trained on him, he gasped and jumped back, startled. The bowl, that he had been holding so lovingly, upturned with his jerking movements, spilling the entire contents onto his bare chest and lap.

“Oh no,” he cried, wiping some of the liquid off with his hand. All that work was now wasted. He couldn’t believe how clumsy he was sometimes. Stupid human fingers! Even though he had changed into human form many times, he still wasn’t used to this body and he found himself to be very accident-prone. The sound of a low, rumbling growl brought him back to a more pressing matter at hand. 

Beast-Vald was now fully transformed. The black curse marks were emblazoned on every inch of visible skin and he had moved into a crouched stance without Rulca noticing. 

“Um…hi, Vald,” he said with a nervous laugh as he slowly began to back away. The beast gave another cautionary growl. “You remember me, right? Your loyal servant, Rulca?” 

There was nothing in the eyes that stared at him like cornered prey to indicate any familiarity. Beast-Vald cocked his head and if Rulca wasn’t mistaken, it looked like he was smirking? Oh, he didn’t like that feral grin one bit. Maybe if he inched away slow enough he wouldn’t draw any attention to himself. 

No such luck. The beast’s eyes never stopped tracking him. There was only one thing left to do. 

“Uh…if you don’t mind very much, I’m going to run away….NOW!” Rulca flipped himself over onto his knees and bolted towards the woods as fast as he could make his human legs work. He made it a good three feet before he was slammed into from behind by what felt like a fully-grown cliff dragon. He went down, face first, into the soft dirt of the forest floor, the air knocked from his lungs momentarily. 

“Oh please don’t hurt or eat me, master,” he begged while trying to kick and wiggle his way out from under the transformed prince, instinctually covering his face with both arms.  
A clawed hand settled on his shoulder, pressing him further into the ground, and a low warning growl sounded in his right ear. The demon-turned-human immediately stilled. Panting heavily, he waited to see what would happen next. If the beast wanted him dead, then he would have been torn apart by now… perhaps he was being toyed with before the end. 

After what felt like an eternity had passed, Rulca lowered his arms away from his face to take a cautious look. Beast-Vald was still poised over him, but his eyes were closed and his head was tilted up, sniffing the air. He looked as though he was mesmerized by something. As soon as the beast became aware that Rulca had moved, he snapped his head back down. Another warning growl ensured that other demon wouldn’t think of making a move before he rolled his servant’s pliant body onto his back. 

“Wha…what are you doing, master?” Rulca sputtered as the beast leaned down and began to smell along his collarbone. Much to the demon-turned-human’s astonishment, the beast began to purr like a large, but content housecat. Then, ever so slowly, Beast-Vald slithered down Rulca’s chest, inhaling and occasionally running his tongue over the flat plains of the demon’s belly. 

The potion! Rulca’s mind quickly reminded him. He spilled it all over himself and now the beast was reacting to it. He suppressed a shudder as Vald’s tongue dipped into his bellybutton. This was not how things were supposed to be going. He was supposed to be the one in charge, not the beast, but it was becoming so very hard to convince his body of this fact. As the beast licked his way down Rulca’s body, the appendage between his legs started to stir once again. He was beginning to feel a rush of warmth in that area and something was happening…something was swelling and throbbing. 

“Oh…ooooh,” he gasped as the beast began to rub his face directly over that area like a playful little kitty. It felt so…good. Rulca couldn’t believe how wonderful this new sensation was. He lifted his head to watch as Beast-Vald rubbed and nuzzled over the now hardened bulge in his pants. Yes, he thought to himself, it was supposed to get hard like that. He had watched Havi take Vald many times and both of their members were rigid like that, rigid and leaking. There was always a white fluid that was expelled from Vald’s organ near the end of their coupling. He always wondered what it was, but was too afraid to ask Havi about it. Rulca got the distinct impression that the sorcerer wouldn’t be too keen on answering those kinds of questions.

Vald reared up suddenly. So much so, that Rulca immediately curled himself into the fetal position to protect himself. “Don’t hurt me,” he cried and the beast snorted. It almost sounded like Vald was laughing at the shivering demon. When Rulca lowered his arms again, Vald was sitting back on his heels, lips curled over his pointed fangs into something resembling a crooked smile. It gave Rulca pause to consider just how sentient Vald was in his cursed form. From what he understood of the spell, Vald was possessed by the entity of Sir Flaybang and that he had been sealed in the crimson sword somehow. So, was it the cursed sword that made Vald like this or was it Sir Flaybang? Or was it both? 

But Rulca was beginning to find that he didn’t care about any of that right now. This newfound sensation had him so completely wrapped up in its coils. His head felt all cloudy and his body suddenly heavy and hard to move. When Beast-Vald ran his tongue slowly over his deadly teeth, Rulca felt his breath catch in his throat at the eroticism of the action. The demon-turned-human felt no fear as the beast grabbed him by the ankles suddenly and flipped him onto his stomach. He wasn’t even fazed when the beast loomed over his back and dragged those razor-sharp claws up his sides, scoring the skin, but not hard enough to draw blood. In fact, Rulca thought it felt rather nice. On any other day he would have realized how strange all this was. He was allowing himself to be groped and pawed by a dangerous animal and all he could do was lie back and enjoy it. The fact that things were not going the way he planned suddenly became less important. As the beast licked and rubbed all over his body, he became acutely aware that he wanted something to happen. He couldn’t quite place what he wanted exactly, but he just knew he wanted something more. 

Vald slipped an arm under Rulca’s waist and hauled him up unto his hands and knees. The pink-haired demon groaned his pleasure as the beast rubbed his sizable erection against the cleft of his ass. 

“Oh, yes, master…that feels wonderful.”

Behind him, Vald grunted in agreement and nipped possessively at the back of Rulca’s neck. They slowly rocked against each other for a few moments, enjoying the hypnotic motion, until the beast decided he’d had enough. With a forceful growl, he sat back and grabbed hold of the other demon’s leggings. His claws sliced through the material as if it were butter. The demon jerked in surprise at the forcefulness, but there was still no fear. On some level Rulca knew that, even in this state, Vald wasn’t going to hurt him, so he stayed pliant and allowed his legs to be shoved apart. 

When his master retook the position between his legs, Rulca knew with sudden clarity of mind, what was going to happen next. As the beast pressed his rigid flesh against his opening, the demon’s mind cried out a warning of imminent pain. 

“Wait!” he cried out sharply and tried to lunge forward. Beast-Vald took this as an escape attempt and roared angrily as he quickly wrenched an arm behind Rulca’s back with one hand and pressed the startled demon’s face into the ground with the other. 

“The bag….we need what’s in the bag,” Rulca gasped out as he stretched his free arm towards the pack that was just out of reach. “Oh, please understand me, master. You need to use the oil.”

Now, Rulca admittedly didn’t know that much about human copulation, but he noticed that Havi always used oil whenever he entered Vald. The beast had barely grazed his opening and he could immediately understand why this was a necessity. The clawed hand at the back of his neck released and he turned to look over his shoulder. The beast gave him a quizzical look, but still released his hold on Rulca’s arm. It was an indication that the plea was understood. The demon-turned-human crawled over to the pack and began to rummage through its contents. Argh! Why is what you’re looking for never on the top? 

“Ah! Here it is….ooohhhhh.”

Rulca’s triumphant cry melted into a throaty moan as Vald ran his tongue along the underside of his balls. That reaction must have pleased the beast for he gave a soft grunt of approval and moved higher and began rimming tight pucker. All the strength left Rulca’s arms and he fell forward, clutching the pack like a lifeline, as that tongue began to work its way inside him. Two clawed hands spread his cheeks, exposing him further, opening him up. Coherency fled as the once-human prince began pushing and probing his tongue deeper. It felt so wondrous, beyond anything he’d ever felt while in human form. But there was still that need for something more screaming through his body, and it was now starting to radiate from inside. Yes, from the inside. Rulca felt a new sensation rolling upon him like a wave and it made something deep inside him ache with an emptiness that needed to be satisfied. 

“Please, master…I need….I need,” Rulca wasn’t sure what it was, exactly, that he needed, but whatever it was now had him clawing at the dirt, moaning wantonly. His hand tightened around the small vial of oil. “The oil…please use the oil. Enter me.” 

As the words left his mouth, he realized that yes, this was what he wanted. He wanted the beast to enter him just like Havi did to the prince when the cursed spirit became too much to contain. The beast bit gently into one of his ass cheeks and then backed off. Rulca sat up and twisted around to face him. Somewhere along the line, the prince had managed to remove his leggings and the demon was granted the full glory of his nakedness. Rulca couldn’t help himself. He had to reach out and touch that gorgeous body before him. The beast allowed the curious inspection, grinning down at the other boy as he gently reached out and touched that chiseled chest. The black marks that twisted all over every inch of skin did nothing to diminish that raw, masculine beauty. In fact, Rulca thought they accentuated it in a way.

“You’re so very beautiful, Vald…even like this,” he said breathily. Withdrawing his hand, he quickly pulled the stopper out of the vial and poured some of the oil into his hand. Vald’s erection stood out proudly, arching ever-so-slightly in an upward curve towards his belly. Rulca has never seen it up close, but now was his chance. The beast grunted softly as the demon gently took hold of his member and closed his fingers around it to form a loose tunnel. Oh, it was so warm, burning even. Rulca marveled at the velvety texture and was utterly perplexed at how something could be both hard and soft at the same time. He looked down to his own throbbing penis and wondered if it was the same. His was smaller, he noted with a small amount of disappointment, but when he removed his hand from the prince to place it on his own, he felt like his heart stopped beating momentarily as he slowly moved it up and down. Each new sensation he was experiencing was better than the last. 

Not one to be ignored, the beast yanked Rulca’s hand away and flipped him back onto his face, ass high in the air. The pink-haired demon protested weakly, more annoyed than anything that the beast stopped his newfound pleasure. All that ended the moment he felt the clawed hands that were settled on his hips, pull him backwards and that now oiled erection was pressing against his opening. Rulca held his breath as the beast pushed forward and that tight ring of muscle began to yield. It was too much. The pain was unexpected and he was completely caught off guard by it. He let out a keening wail as he was penetrated slowly by what felt like something as wide as a tree branch. When the beast was embedded to the hilt, he stilled a moment and let the gasping demon beneath him calm down a bit. 

Rulca’s mind was in a panic and his body was shaking from the sensory overload. It hurt, yes, but now, as the initial burning was subsiding, he was aware of this new feeling of fullness and pressure and- ooooh! The beast pulled out a few inches and then rolled his hips forward for the first real thrust and all complaints stopped instantly. The beast repeated the motion. And than again. And again. There was a steady rhythm building, like the slow beat of a drum. When the beast slammed into him all the way, he felt a new fire growing in intensity and whatever it was that was being struck deep inside him was so unbelievingly riveting. The talons that held his lower body in place, tightened as the pace began to increase.

“Oh….oh, master, it feels so good,” Rulca managed to gasp out as his body was rocked back and forth. He was to the point of near-sobbing as his body was overcome with volley after volley of pure, unadulterated pleasure. Never in his long years had Rulca felt anything near to this. 

Behind him the beast snarled and grunted, so completely caught up in this most primal of acts. The air around the pair began to crackle with spiritual energy. As the beast lost more of himself, the more the energy pulsed around them, through them. With each powerful thrust into his body, Rulca could feel the magical surge so acutely that it felt like it flowed from Vald, into him, and then out through the tips of his fingers into their surroundings. And the fire that had been slowly building in the pit of his stomach, flared. Everything that he had been feeling up to now- the pressure, the fullness, the delicious friction as Vald pulled out and slammed back in- all began to condense into one, single vibration. He felt like he was climbing higher and higher, struggling for a conclusion that seemed just out of reach.

“Some- something’s happening, master.”

Beast-Vald seemed to understand this plea. Those deadly claws, that could so easily disembowel him with one flick of his wrist, slid from their place on Rulca’s hip around over the tight stomach muscles to grasp the dripping hardness there. The demon bucked in surprise, but eventually stilled as the hand began to slide up and down over his rock-hard length. 

“Oh, oh….I feel…something is-” Rulca cut himself off with a scream as his balls constricted and the world suddenly exploded white. His whole body quivered as came hard all over the hand stroking him and the ground below. The beast continued to slam into him, harder now, with a more single-minded purpose, and all Rulca was capable of doing, was to lying there, completely spent, until Beast-Vald roared at his own completion.

Breathless and satiated, the beast bent down and slowly licked along the back of Rulca’s shoulders, butting his head against the back of the other’s. It was slow and gentle, as if he were thanking the little pink-haired demon for a job well done. 

“Ugn, that was…incredible,” Rulca sighed as he relaxed and lowered his body flat to the ground. The beast followed him down, still inside him, purring loudly. It was such a soothing sound and before long, he felt his eyes drifting closed. He was floating, lighter than ether, in that space somewhere between sleep and wakefulness when the beast finally decided to withdraw. He groaned weakly as he was left hollowed, with a stream of warm wetness running down the inside of his thighs. It was an odd sensation, but Rulca was too tired to care at this point. He just wanted to crawl over to the bedrolls and pass out. Vald, however, had other plans.

While the demon was trying to muster up the strength required to move the five or so feet to the blankets, the beast placed his hands on Rulca’s hips and hauled his lower body back up onto his knees. This placed Rulca’s backside at the perfect height for the beast to once again drive his tongue into the now-loosened hole and lick away that which he had left. 

“Ah! No…what are you doing?” Rulca complained weakly while trying to squirm away. “You can’t be- ungh…you can’t want to go again, can you?” 

The beast answered that question by pressing his erection against the demon’s opening, teasingly. Rulca leaned down onto his elbows and bit his lip nervously. He was going to be in for a long night. Why did I make that potion so strong…why?

~*~*~

“What in the Seven Hells happened here?”

The voice jolted Rulca from his blissful slumber and he bolted upright, panicked. His eyes dashed around frantically to try and ascertain the situation. He looked down at his hands. He was still in human form. Which was surprising since it used up a lot of energy to stay like this and required a certain amount of concentration, and very much naked save for the blanket that was now pooled at his waist. He then looked over to Vald who was dead-to-the-world beside him. The curse marks were gone and the prince’s face was serene as he slept on, unaware. The demon noticed that the gold inhibitor cuffs were refastened around Vald’s wrists. He didn’t remember putting them back on, but then again, things got pretty foggy after the third round. A strangled gasp drew his attention to the sorcerer standing a few feet away, staring wide-eyed in shock at the two of them. 

“Uh…Halvir…you’ve come back early,” Rulca exclaimed with a half-hearted smile as he ran a nervous hand through his messy and now, unbraided hair. 

“Early?” the sorcerer questioned, seemingly surprised. “It’s already past mid-day. What have the two of you been up to?”

The demon looked up and sure enough, the sun was high in the sky. How long had Vald and him been sleeping? Well, they were both extremely exhausted, but he had to come up with something quick. He gave another nervous smile. 

“Uh…um….well…” 

Rulca tried to be nonchalant and play it off as best as he could. Perhaps Havi wouldn’t figure out what really happened. There were just sleeping together…for warmth…naked. The demon-turned-human cowered into the blanket as he weighed his options. Havi was smart; he would figure it out. This was so not the way things were supposed to happen. There were a few choices left for him at this moment- stay and tell Halvir everything or change back into his true form and get the hell away from the sorcerer until this whole scenario blew over. He decided on the latter.

“Not so fast, bunny,” Havi said as he threw a bolt of power at the retreating demon. It hit Rulca hard, sending him careening into a nearby tree and then spiraling down to the ground, dazed. Halvir picked the creature up by its ears and held it up to his face. The rest of the lithe, little body dangled limply. 

“Now listen up, bunny, and listen good or else you really will go into the pot,” Havi growled menacingly. “You are never to touch him again. Am I understood?”

Rulca lifted his head and stared blearily at the man. “You don’t own him. He’s a prince and yet you treat him like your own personal who-“

The sorcerer cut him off with a rough shake. “I would never treat him that way…ever.”

“Then you should try telling him how you really feel!” Havi’s eyebrows shot straight up at the demon’s candor. “Or is the Great and Powerful Halvir scared to admit he cares for another person?” 

The white-haired man was visibly taken aback, but covered it quickly with a scowl. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Vald is a client, nothing more.”

Rulca rolled his eyes. Humans can be so dense sometimes. “The beast side of Vald is more aware than you think. He knows, Havi. On some level, he knows how you feel.”

“Th-that’s nonsense,” the sorcerer sniffed indignantly. “The very nature of the curse that’s affecting Vald doesn’t allow him to retain that much of his consciousness. There’s absolutely no way he could-“

“Man, did I sleep like the dead last night,” a sleepy voice intervened. The demon and the sorcerer both turned and stared as the prince sat up slowly and stretched his arms over his head. “Oh… hi, Havi. How was your trip?” 

Quickly releasing his hold on Rulca, Havi turned to face the young man. “It was fine. I was able to get some decent information this time around,” he said pleasantly, as if he hadn’t been throttling the demon a moment ago.

Rulca fluttered over to the prince and took up his usual perch on the boy’s shoulder. He frowned at the sorcerer until Vald began to scratch the top of his head. He really loved being scratched in that spot. It made all the bad feelings go away. 

“Why does the camp look trashed?” Vald asked offhandedly. 

Havi and Rulca exchanged a panicked look with each other. The sorcerer sputtered ineffectually for a few seconds, unable to come up with a plausible lie. 

“I believe I can explain that, master.” Rulca offered. “You know how clumsy I am when I stay in human form too long.” When the boy nodded slowly, he continued. “Well, after you fell asleep, I drank a little of the wine that Halvir keeps in his packs and I guess I got drunk and stumbled all over the place. I’m sorry, Havi, it won’t happen again.”

“It had better not. Bunnies should not go messing with things they don’t understand,” Havi chastised. Rulca knew the hidden meaning in those words and solemnly shook his head in agreement.

“Oh, okay,” Vald said, still sounding confused. “Maybe the two of you can answer another question for me.” He paused until he had both parties undivided attention. “Why am I naked?”

 

-End-


End file.
